It's been a big season of emerging trends for Fall 2022. At New York Fashion Week, we saw balaclavas take hold, alongside themes of Twee and colour blocking on the runway. Workwear has remained a constant through seasons, returning again for Fall with an undone approach. Amid it all, a silent accessory has begun to emerge on the runway, and it's made a very strong case for itself. The accessory in question is the evening glove. Or the dinner glove, or the Opera glove if you're of that era. Whichever way you slant it, the above elbow glove has returned, and we haven't stopped thinking about it since.

Gloves were present on the very first day of NYFW, when Proenza Schouler showed them as slinky attachments to long black sleeves, hinting at what was to come. At Dion Lee, they were iterated in thick black leather, giving the illusion of enlarged butcher gloves that hooked onto the sleeves of outerwear. At London Fashion Week, they were donned with a more feminine approach. At Simone Rocha, evening gloves in ribbed cotton that extended to the armpit were encrusted with crystals that dripped from the arms, while at Bora Aksu, they were rendered in pastel lace.

In Milan, Jil Sander took the spotlight with scrunched leather gloves in chocolate, butter, and cream, while at Fendi, cashmere iterations were offered in sage, orange, and pastel pink. Sportmax slashed the gloves to a quarter length, offering driving gloves to barely cover the knuckles, while Versace's offering was of the latex variety. For Matthieu Blazy's Bottega Veneta debut, translucent, sequin evening gloves drove the moment home.

Now, we are just three days into Paris fashion week and gloves have made an appearance at Off-White, were individual gloves were made for each outfit, like a black sequin pair to go with the mini dress Kendall Jenner wore, or the ice blue pair to accompany Adut Akech's bejewelled gown. They were seen again at Dior, where Maria Grazia Chiuri rendered them in a sportswear-esque fashion to mimick the effect of couturised hockey gloves. At Balmain, they were clad with gold plates in a very protective way, while at Acne Studios, they climbed up the arms in soft cotton.

It is an interesting phenomenon to welcome something back that has only really been relevant for the one percent in the past decade or so. Eerily, their biggest boom in the trend cycle was in the years prior to WWI, and again post-WWII, where they were reserved for more special occasions. Perhaps it is a post-pandemic response, as we have seen with so many other protective trends that have been circling through the zeitgeist at the moment, perhaps it is a nod to how intrinsic and sensitive our trend cycle is to global events. It is most likely that it is both, and as we navigate such a tumultuous time with global conflict and natural disasters, we're can likely expect more iterations of protective wear infiltrating our wardrobes in seasons to come.

For summer collections in September the post-pandemic response looked like body exposure and fetish fashion. For Fall/Winter, things have taken a slightly more heavy handed approach. This being said, in the lightest of outlooks, a removable sleeve will always be in my favour.

Below, are our favourite evening gloves to shop for the season.

 

Prada Long Leather Gloves

Balenciaga Long Stretch Gloves

The Row Dovera Ribbed Cashmere Gloves

Maison Margiela Sequined Long Gloves

Marine Serre Stretch Jersey Gloves